The Return of Nightmare Moon
by owlcat92
Summary: In this story, Princess Luna's evil other half comes back when an eclipse maximizes the power of envy and all negative emotions. Can Twilight and her friends rescue the Princess Luna and her missing sister? - Owl
1. Chapter 1

Prologue:

_Twilight sighed and picked up the quill, she searched out some parchment and then began to write. She loved the way Applejack told stories, so she was very happy when she was asked to write a story for her to tell. _

_Twilight looked at the silver and gold charm that was on the wall. She smiled. Then she looked up at the window, the window from where she could see the moon._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1: Missing

Twilight Sparkle sat at her desk, as the sun began to set. She was re-reading the Legends of Equestria, and was and was anxious for Princess Celestia's arrival for the winter solstice. She closed the book. Spike snored contently behind her. She sighed, so much to look forward to, so much had been done, and she was certain that somehow, so much would go wrong.

She had no idea how right she was.

Twilight stood next to Rarity. The line of the six ponies lined up at the front of the Town Hall, in front of the rest of Ponyville while the mayor looked at the moon through the window, then looking back at her speech. Twilight sighed again, she knew _something _would go wrong, but she was hoping _so _much that it wouldn't.

The mayor picked up her speech. "Good day, everypony, I hope you are all feeling good as we remember the moon in which the spirit of Nightmare Moon was trapped in," she cleared her throat and continued. "And so we will, today, or rather, night, I should say. The Winter Solstice, as it is today-night!-is the longest night of the year, where Princess Luna raises the moon for the longest time, and then her sister, our Princess Celestia raises the sun. Tonight, we have our Princess Celestia here. Ponyville," she said. Looking at the crowd, and then the curtains of the balcony, as she had not so long ago when Nightmare Moon had returned the last time. "I present you with," her voice rose in excitement, "The Princess Celestia!"

Instead of hearing cheers, there were a few gasps, and a silence. A silence weighed down to the ponies by dread.

Princess Celestia wasn't there.


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, thanks for all the comments people! Just for the record, this is Owl, Cat writes other stuff. Quite frankly when I posted this I was expecting to wait for like a week until I got A comment.**

**So here it is, enjoy!**

****Chapter 2: Eclipse

Twilight and her friends were everywhere. Since Princess Celestia's failed arrival, they had gone mad looking for something. Twilight had contacted Shining Armour, and he said he knew nothing except from when the Princess had left for them. This was bad.

Twilight had dug out the largest and oldest book of legends she could find. Rarity was reading, Applejack was pacing with Spike, Pinkie was dancing around, singing about "bad happenings and twitchy tails", Rainbow Dash was zooming around, convinced that she needed to put 'em up with the thing that had kidnapped the Princess, and Fluttershy was standing there with Angel trying to come up with things.

Fluttershy looked at Twilight, who was frowning and reading the book. "Maybe she just felt a bit sick," Fluttershy said. "Like Pony-pox or something. Or maybe she -"

"Fluttershy, I don't want to be mean or anything," Twilight said hurriedly, "but I don't think that's it, and if it's okay with you, could you please leave me alone so I can read."

"Oh," Fluttershy said. She smiled shyly and took a step back. "Sorry, Twilight, I was just thinking." She scooted off before anyone could notice, except for Rainbow, who caught her tail and hoisted her up. "What's wrong, Fluttershy? Afraid to put 'em up?"

"N-no, Rainbow Dash, I was just leaving, because Twilight said she wanted to be left alone."

"She didn't mean leave! She just meant stop talking to her, come on! Let's find whatever took the Princess!"

Fluttershy yelped as Rainbow raced off.

"WAIT!" the yell made Rainbow come to a dead stop. She swerved and raced back to the library.

"What is it?" she said as she zoomed in, still holding a poor Fluttershy by the tail.

"I have it!" yelled Twilight, jumping around. "I've got it, I've got it! I've got it!"

"Err, sugar, what is it that you've got?" Applejack asked.

"Why Princess Celestia's not here!"

Then Twilight stopped. She looked at the book. "Once every a thousand and one years, on the night of the Winter Solstice, there's an eclipse of the moon, and in the darkness of that, the emotions of envy, hate, jealousy, fear and all the bad feelings are at their strongest. I can think of one pony that has a past with envy."

"What _is_ envy?" Rainbow asked.

"Jealousy," Twilight replied, racing back to the book. And you know what pony I'm talking about, don't you?"

They all went quiet. "Princess Luna," they all said. They looked at the moon, and saw the black disk begin to eat away at the moon.

Twilight took a deep breath; she'd known that something was going to go wrong yesterday.

"Nightmare Moon is back, and stronger than ever."

**Yes! The ponies are on to it! Is this too serious? I don't know, so please comment!**

**Owl**


	4. Chapter 4

**Yes! Here we are, chapter 3! I hope you like it! Please comment! And thanks again for all the people that have chosen to follow it!**

Chapter 3: The Heart of the Everfree

Twilight and her friends stood at the entrance to the Everfree Forest. Why were they there? Because the disk that was eating away at the moon was casting a beam of blue light down onto the trees, giving them faces, and a haunting air, that wasn't the Everfree Forest they knew, but they needed to save their Princess.

Twilight walked forward, wearing her Element of Harmony, as well as all the others wearing theirs. She was kind of embarrassed by the tiara-thingy on her head, but she thought the Princess was more important.

"Come on, everypony," she said. "Our Princesses need us. We need to find the source of the light in the Forest. Let's go!"

She cantered into the trees, with all her friends following close behind. Spike ran as fast he could on his baby-dragon legs. "Twilight!" he yelled as he fell face-first into the dirt. "Spike," Twilight said irritably, and she lifted him onto her back with magic.

"Thanks, Twilight," he said. She smiled and cantered deeper into the trees.

…

They stood at the bridge. It was broken. The ropes that held the bridge in place had broken on the other side, and only one stump held it up. Beneath it was a yawning chasm, with spires of sharp rocks jutting out from the cavern floor. Twilight gulped.

Rainbow flew over the trench. "What's the problem, guys?" she said, and then looked down. "Oh."

"We can't get across," Twilight said.

"Then we just go around, silly," laughed Pinkie. "Come on. It can't go on forever."

_Maybe not, _thought Twilight, _but this night can, if we're right about Nightmare Moon._

They walked forever, until the chasm disappeared, they began to walk the way they thought they were meant to go. Then Applejack stopped. "Hey, I don't think this is the right way, y'all."

"It has to be, Applejack!" Rainbow insisted. "We came from over there -" she pointed back the way they'd come - "and now we need to go this way."

"But it ain't right, I know it ain't."

"Come on, Applejack!" Rainbow waved her hooves above her head. "Look," she said. "I'll go and see where the light is, and then we'll go that way."

She zoomed off, leaving five nervous ponies behind.

"Err, guys," she said, as she landed. "The light's back that way." She pointed behind them.

"But that can't be right!" yelled Twilight. "It can't be . . ."

"Aww . . . cheer up, Twilight, let's just go that way, then," said Pinkie, as she raced off.

"Just if anypony minds, I just think I'd say -"

"THOSE ARE ZAP APPLES!" yelled Applejack. "But it ain't their season! What is going on?"

Before them was a huge orchid of apple trees, with rainbow apples sprouting on them.

Twilight looked up. "Those look really good . . ." said Spike on her back.

"We can't be distracted," said Twilight. "Come on, let's keep going."

This time they all raced off, they didn't notice it, but their Elements were starting to glow.

They found themselves in front of a huge castle. "I ain't ever seen a place like that, sugar," Applejack said.

The castle was pure white, with the stream of blue light gushing onto it. There was a centre tower, with a picture of a moon on it. "Well," said Twilight. "I doubt we're wrong."

She walked into the grounds, followed by her friends. They stood amongst the garden; it was the strangest thing they'd ever seen. Silver flowers that bent over and were shaped like bells were along the walls of the castle, while tiny streams of silver water whispered around the castle, each of them forming a picture.

Twilight stopped. At that exact moment, the moon was eclipsed, and they were plunged into darkness.

Then a huge light lit up the huge arch at the base of the castle. A pony stood there. She was tall, with a black coat and a glowing blue necklace and helmet, her ebony horn shone like the night sky. Her huge black wings glistened. Her eyes were bright blue, and her mane flowed out around her like her own night sky, dark blue and woven with stars. She looked at them, with a smile on her muzzle. Her moon cutie mark glowed silver.

"Greetings, my friends," she said. "You recognise me, dear ponies."

She looked at them, and her smile widened. None of the ponies spoke.

"Why, it is your old friend," she said. "Remember? Indeed, it is me, Nightmare Moon."

**Here we are, people! Yes! Nightmare Moon is back! Does anyone agree with me that Nightmare Moon is seriously cool? Sorry if this is getting out of hand, but I just figured out how this works, Cat's probably laughing - they knows how bad I am with computers.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, people! Thanks for all the comments! Okay, here is the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: no, I don't own My Little Pony, and if i did then it would be really bad. **

**See? I remembered the disclaimer this time!**

****Chapter 4: Elements of the Eclipse

Nightmare Moon stood there, regarding them with her icy eyes. This was a creature born from the envy and resentment of a single pony; a single pony that happened to be trapped within the creature.

"Why, my friends," said Nightmare Moon. "Why are you so quiet? Are you missing your voices? I would be very happy to go and help you find them."

She walked up to Twilight, "what about _you, _Twilight Sparkle, or should I say, Element? Do you remember me fondly? I remember you nicely. Oh yes, you defeated me. But, then you helped me back. By helping Luna, you helped me. For that I thank you."

She looked at the six ponies. "What are you waiting for? Aren't you meant to use your elements to destroy me about now? Or are you too stunned? I'm not, well, actually I'm quite stunned that none of you have said hello to me yet."

"Hello, Nightmare Moon," said Rainbow. "And let me be the first to say, _goodbye!_"

Rainbow zoomed in to Nightmare Moon, but the mare simply stepped aside and let Rainbow crash muzzle-first into the wall of the castle. "I believe that your farewell was a bit early, Loyalty."

Rainbow groaned and sat up. "Ow," she said meekly.

Nightmare Moon turned to Pinkie Pie. "What about you, Laughter? Glad to see me?"

"Well," said Pinkie. "That would depend . . . Because, when I see someone again that I haven't seen for a while I really need to throw them a party, except that we're not in Ponyville at the moment, so I can't give you a party, so that means that not everyone knows that I'm glad to see you, which I am, because I'm glad to see everyone!"

She went and leaned onto Nightmare Moon's side. "Will you be my friend? I have a thing that whenever I meet someone they need to be my friend, and since I hardly got to meet you last time, I didn't get to make you my friend, so will you?"

"How do I put this . . . ?" said Nightmare Moon. "No."

"Aw, come on!"

Pinkie started dancing around, and then started singing.

"_What do you do when you see a friend from way back?_

_Well, I would invite them for a snack,_

_And then I'd say, you came soon,_

_Why of course, you're Nightmare Moon!_

_And of course, you'd have to stay,_

_And then maybe, come and play,_

_And well, you need some cake,_

_Which of course, I can bake,_

_And now you're my very good friend,_

_And then you can talk about the latest trend!"_

Pinkie stopped singing in the middle of a cartwheel. Nightmare Moon looked unimpressed. "My night came crashing down," she muttered.

"Aw, thanks!"

"Nightmare Moon," said Twilight. "You know why we're here. Luna isn't you."

"Oh, I love how little you ponies know," Nightmare Moon replied. "Well, go ahead. Get stuck in!"

"Come on guys!" Twilight called. Her friends assembled around her, "three . . . two . . . one!"

Their gems lit up in their bright colours, but the light turned to blinding silver, and then it died.

"What?" they all yelled. Rainbow pulled off her element. "Hey, guys, um . . . I suggest having a look at your necklaces."

Nightmare Moon was standing there calmly. "It was very nice to see you girls," she said. "But I have other people to see; my sister, for instance. Ta-ta!"

And she changed into a glittery dark blue mist, and floated away.

"What happened?" Twilight yelled. Pinkie held up her necklace. "Have a look at this," she said.

Twilight looked at it. The gem wasn't in the shape of a balloon anymore; it was a ring of silvery gem. They all looked like that. Twilight took off her tiara. She gasped.

She looked up at the moon, then back at her tiara. "Everypony," she said. "We now have Elements of the Eclipse."

"What?" everypony yelled, "What is that?"

"When the elements are activated," Twilight said. "On the night of the eclipse, they are changed. They become hollow, like the moon."

Twilight looked at her tiara. It looked exactly like the moon: a ring of shining light. Except hers was more diamond shaped. "Well, what do we do?" asked Fluttershy.

Twilight sighed. "I don't know. We need to get back to the Library. Come on, ponies!"

They all cantered through the Library's doors. Spike dropped off Twilight's back and climbed into his bed. "Spike!" yelled Twilight. "Nightmare Moon's still out there!"

"Yeah, that's very nice. Tell me in the morning."

Twilight went back to her book. She was staring at it forever. Then she cried out, "HERE!"

Everypony rushed around her. "The Elements of the Eclipse are the hollow state of the elements; the only way for them to be fixed is to find the element's spirits. Find them, and find the last ray of sun light in Equestria."

She scanned the page. "There's nothing here about where to -"

"Hey, there's a poem in here!" Pinkie cried.

"_The endless night,_

_Is far and bright,_

_But, indeed why?_

_The blackened sky,_

_Search out the final ray,_

_And then, it may,_

_Light the path to the right place to be,_

_And then it must be you at sea,_

_The sky is a sea, _

_A sea of what?_

_The honey bee,_

_The night is short,_

_And yet it is endless,_

_But never sunless,_

_The city of clouds,_

_The sky surrounds,_

_And there lies the sun's last ray,_

_And you will hear the final neigh,_

_The past is gone,_

_The future drawn,_

_And the moon shall watch the sun rise,_

_At last in control of her other guise."_

Pinkie huffed. "It's not a good song."

"Pinkie, you're a genius! Come on, ponies, to Cloudsdale!"

**Yay! Pinkie made a new friend - nearly, but hey! She's a happy pony! Okay, I hope you enjoyed it, and be sure to comment!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, here we are. Chapter 5! Please comment, I'd love to know what you think!**

**Owl**

**Disclaimer: No, I do NOT own MLP Friendship is Magic, and for that we should celebrate**

* * *

Chapter 5: Sinking Clouds

Twilight stood in the Balloon as it slowly rose to the Pegasus city of clouds. She looked back at Fluttershy. She knew the pony was afraid of heights.

The Balloon docked and they jumped off. Twilight had already cast a spell that let them all walk on clouds like the Pegasus ponies. She trotted to the weather factory. The rainbowfalls fell off the clouds, and, despite the dark night that hung over them, they refused to stop. She was a loyal pupil of the Princess Celestia, and she was going to look after her teacher.

She trotted into the factory, where she stopped dead because Rainbow dash zoomed ahead. "My necklace's glowing! Ah! And it's - what the - argh!"

Rainbow Dash was pulled by her glowing necklace further away from the factory, where she then came to a stop in front of a window.

It was a stain-glass window of the sun, beneath it was Princess Celestia lifting it, but the window was giving off a light, at first Twilight thought it was from the moon that lined up behind it, but it had its own light, a golden light that illuminated the centre of the sun.

Fluttershy took a step forward. "It's really pretty, Twilight. Is that . . . ?"

"Yeah, I think it is, Fluttershy; the sun's final ray. How do we -?"

Fluttershy's necklace began to glow. Soon it was so bright it became blinding white, and then it faded away. When it died, Fluttershy was standing there with a small golden butterfly within the round white circle of the Element of the Eclipse.

"S-sorry, ponies, I-I just . . ."

"Fluttershy, what are you talking about? That was _so _cool!" Rainbow yelled. II wish my Element could so that!"

"Uh . . . Rainbow?" asked Twilight.

"Yeah?"

"I think it did."

Rainbow looked down at her necklace. Hers was now a red lightning bolt within a white circle, "no way! Sweet! Come on, let's go!"

"Dear ponies," Rarity said. "I must insist that you clean yourselves up. I cannot stand the look of . . . _Dirt," _she shuddered at the word. "And it won't do to go rescuing Princess Celestia looking like that, so _clean yourselves up!"_

"Rarity, I would, but it's just I have other things to think -" Rainbow began, but Rarity grabbed her tail using magic and dunked her in a rain-cloud-maker.

Rainbow exploded out of it. "Urgh! Rarity, really? I just - urgh!"

Rarity then proceeded to shove the other ponies into the pool. Soon they were all wet and sparkling with rain-cloud-mix.

"Well, Rarity, I don't think there's any dir-"

"_Don't say that word!"_

"-on us anymore," Twilight said.

Rarity threw her purple mane. "Why, naturally, darling."

"Come _on_, ponies, we have to go!" Rainbow insisted, stomping her hoof on the tiles. It seemed that just that caused a reaction. A long crack spread across the ground, the Pegasus ponies screamed as it split the city of clouds into pieces. Soon they began to sink, slowly and roughly, throwing everything around.

Suddenly a dark blue glow illuminated the window before them. "Oh no, dear friends, I don't think you need to go anywhere."


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello, again! Sorry about the wait . . . was it that bad? I hope not.** **Anyway, here we are with Chapter 6.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own My Little Pony or Friendship is Magic. Quite frankly, we should party about that.**

* * *

Chapter 6: Eclipse, Be Gone

Nightmare Moon waltzed out of her blue, starry mist. "Greetings, and it seems that I have saved you the trip," she said. She walked over to Twilight and stared her down, lowering her muzzle and shoving her face against hers. "And I believe, so m sister says, that you have a plan or . . . Prophecy that may vanquish," - she stepped away and began to walk, adding another word with every step as she began to turn away - "defeat, conquer, dismiss, or, quite frankly, _save Princess Luna from Nightmare Moon, _or even better, _rescue the Princess Celestia!" _she turned back to the ponies, staring at them with her icy eyes.

"But I don't want any of that," her eyes narrowed. "My sister is powerless in the night, the night is _mine, _I bring forth the moon, I bring forth the stars, and what do you do? You sleep. But when my _sister _brings forth the sun, you jump and dance around beneath it. Just like everyone else. The eldest is the important one, the one with the rainbow mane that flows out by itself, the one with pretty eyes. What about the younger? What about the one with _not _so pretty eyes, or the one with a blue mane with stars within it?"

Twilight could see the sadness on her eyes. It wasn't ever the jealousy that had turned her into Nightmare Moon, it was the sadness. No one cared about her night, or her, just Princess Celestia. From her sadness her jealousy and envy had been created, and from them Nightmare Moon had.

"But, when I _finally _get the chance to be as pretty as my sister, in the form of Nightmare Moon, and bring forth a prettier moon and stars, and who cares? You're all asleep. My sister thought she was doing the right thing," Nightmare Moon shook her head sadly, but then it shot up again in anger. "But she never thought that I wasn't evil. She only thought a change in appearance was a sign I had turned. She never realised that I did it so I could be as pretty as her, but she cast it away in fear. _Then _Nightmare Moon came. _Then _I fought for what I wanted. But she beat me, and trapped me in my own beautiful moon."

Twilight had never thought of thinking that Nightmare Moon was created because Princess Luna wanted to be like her older sister, that it was her desire to be like her. Nightmare Moon really was pretty, but Twilight had never thought about it that way.

"So now, I shall strike back. She got what was close to me, my night, and this time maybe I can get her elements."

Twilight was snapped back to action.

"Ponies," she said. "We need to use the Elements, now!"

All of their elements began to glow, as did Nightmare Moon's horn.

Rainbow light blocked out what Twilight saw, she could only feel the humming of her tiara. Then she felt it, Nightmare Moon's power. It cut through the rainbow in a charge of starry blue. Twilight focused on it, and _then_ she could hear Nightmare Moon.

"No! No!" she was screaming. "No!"

But then it stopped. The rainbow light died, but the window was glowing with the sun.

_THE SUN!_

It was illuminating the room from through the window, it was so bright that it blocked what the ponies could see, but they saw one thing: Nightmare Moon was gone.

They hoped.


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, here we are, the seventh chapter! And technically the last. So, I won't spoil it. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: No, I do NOT own My Little Pony or Friendship is Magic.**

* * *

The ponies were staring at the sunlight in awe, just as a shimmering white mass formed before them, and from that came the Princess Celestia.

"Princess!" they all exclaimed.

"Yes, ponies, it is I," she seemed to be a bit sad. "And in this case, I believe that you taught me something."

"Huh?" they all said.

"When I trapped Nightmare Moon inside her moon, she was trapped there, but she knew what was going on with certain ponies she wanted to know about, that's how she knew I was at Ponyville the first time she escaped. As I did with her, she trapped me in the sun, where I saw and heard everything you did."

She looked back at the sunlight that obscured the front of the room. "Even with all my knowledge I was still ignorant to what she had become. She was always aspiring to be like me, I just never thought . . . I didn't realise that it was me that made her bad. I thought it was her, her envy . . . It was all from me. She was pretty as Luna, but she _was _very pretty as Nightmare Moon. But I cast it aside, I fought her. Only now do I know that. I should've realised when I was looking _at _her eyes, but then I saw Nightmare Moon's . . ."

Princess Celestia let the light fade. They saw a motionless Nightmare Moon. Twilight smiled. Princess Luna's attempt to be like her sister had worked.

Princess Luna opened an eye; it was her eye, not Nightmare Moon's. Still a bright icy blue, but a kind, wise blue. Princess Celestia bent down to her. "I believe I owe you an apology, sister."

Twilight couldn't see that well, but she was certain that there were tears of joy in Princess Luna's eyes. "An apology thou do not need. Thee has apologised enough, in fact it is thy that should thank thou and her pupils, Twilight Sparkle and her friends."

Maybe she still spoke from a thousand years ago, but she was truly a good pony.

* * *

Twilight stood with her friends before all of Canterlot, before Princesses Celestia and Luna. Shining Armour and Kenza stood to the right of them.

"Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack and Rarity, from all of Equestria, we thank you," said the princesses.

Twilight heard the crowd cheer behind her. She felt a necklace be placed over her neck. She looked own at it, it was a gold and silver charm of the sun and the moon.

All of her friends had the same charm. The crowd was still cheering, and Shining Armour and Kenza looked ecstatic from where they were. Twilight smiled, she guessed she could look after her teacher as well as she could look after her. Not to mention the family.

Who cares in looking _after _another family? They were all in one family, technically.

Even the Zecora, speaking of which, was standing to the left of the princesses, next to another zebra Twilight had never seen before. But Zecora looked happy.

Another one to the family.


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay, here we are. The epilogue. Enjoy people! I hope you enjoyed it and enjoy this. Thank you so much for this! This is actually my first fanfiction, and I'm sure that you'd agree that I was NOT expecting this. Quite frankly, I didn't think this would ever get read by anyone, but hey! Thank you guys out there! Especially bronydudeshadow, thanks for the comments!**

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own My Little Pony or Friendship is magic.**

* * *

_Epilogue:_

_Twilight sat under the lamplight scribbling down notes. Spike yawned and sat up. "You never actually told me the full story of how Nightmare Moon became Princess Luna," he said._

_"That's because," Twilight replied, shooting the quill across the page, "you were asleep."_

_"Well, I'd like to know now," he said stubbornly, crossing his arms._

_"Hang on . . . Done!" she exclaimed happily, jumping around._

_"Done what?"_

_"I just finished writing a story. Applejack wanted it written so she could tell all the foals in pre-school."_

_"What's it about?"_

_"How about I just read it out to you?"_

_"Okay, fine."_

_Twilight smiled, then took a deep breath. "There once were two sisters, sun and moon, they were older and younger, morn and noon. But the younger wanted to be like her sister, and so she became, the older was shocked, even scared to be same, but the moon had no nightmares until that was misunderstood, and from there we know that fear was not a mood. From the misunderstanding there rose the fear, but it goes to show that sisters are always near. Although the sister wasn't back that soon, this is the story of Nightmare Moon." _

_**The End**_


End file.
